The Dow Jones industrial average finished Thursday up 12.28 points, or 0.1 percent, posting its sixth-straight day of gains, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was up 4.35 points, or 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq composite index, full of technology stocks, rose 14.23 points, or 0.7 percent.

Stocks, which have only crept upward this week despite upbeat inflation news, are likely to trade in a narrow range until the next meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers, set for June 29-30. The Fed is expected to raise short-term interest rates for the ninth time when it meets next, continuing a streak of rate hikes that began last year.

However, the market’s focus will be the Fed’s accompanying assessment of the economy; investors are looking for signs that the string of rate hikes is coming to an end.

Bonds lost some ground, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.11, from 4.10 late Wednesday. Oil prices climbed $1.01 to $56.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. News that Russian oil output was down 3.4 percent in April and concerns about refining capacity boosted oil prices.

SBC Communications fell 6 cents to $23.95 after the company said it would take a second-quarter pretax charge of $236 million to end a service agreement with WilTel Communications. SBC, which is in the process of acquiring AT&T Corp., will switch most of its long-distance service to AT&T’s network.